Easy Venison Summer Sausage

Here's a great venison summer sausage recipe that you can make right in the kitchen without resorting to a smoker.

Make sure that your venison is very lean and free of connective tissue before you grind it.

You can either grind lean cuts of beef along with the venison, or do like I often do and use lean pre-ground hamburger instead.

I served this at our last Super Bowl party, and it was so popular I had to refill the serving plate 3 times.

3 lbs venison

2 lbs lean ground beef

1 teaspoon granulated garlic or garlic powder

3 tablespoons kosher salt

1 tablespoon granulated onion or onion powder

3 tablespoons coarse ground black pepper

2 tablespoons paprika

1 tablespoon whole mustard seed

1 tablespoon liquid smoke (slightly more if you like it really smoky)

1 teaspoon Prague Powder #1 or Instacure #1

1 cup ice water

Trim the venison, cut it into 1 inch cubes, and grind it through the fine (3/16") plate of your meat grinder.

Add the ground beef to the venison.

Combine the spices and cure in a small container and mix with the 1 cup of ice water and the liquid smoke.

Pour the spice and water combination into the ground meat and mix thoroughly for at least 2 minutes. Use your hands for mixing to assure even distribution.

Put the completed venison summer sausage mixture in a covered bowl and place it in the refrigerator for 1 to 3 days but at least over night.

After the venison sausage has cured in the refrigerator, take it out and form it into logs about 2 inches in diameter. Cover the sausage logs in aluminum foil (shiny side in), and puncture the aluminum foil in several places (small holes) to allow for drainage.

Place the foil covered rolls on a rack over a drip pan and bake in the oven for 1 1/2 hours at 350 degrees.

Take out the sausage, remove the foil, soak up any remaining drippings by rolling in paper towels, rewrap in foil and allow to cool.

Once your venison sausage is cooled and firm you can slice it for
sandwiches or snacking. If you plan to keep it more than a few days it
is best to freeze it.